Campaign season is just around the corner. So we are now hearing from all sorts of pundits and consultants about what candidates should do or not do. Karl Rove recently asked, Are Social Issues Hurting Republicans? His answer is yes. That is why he is calling for a change in how Republican candidates address abortion and marriage.

He understands that candidates cannot totally ignore these core social issues. He points out that 43 percent “of the votes Mitt Romney received in 2012 came from white evangelical Christians.” He predicts that the party “would fracture if it abandoned its long-standing support for traditional morality.” So he proposes that candidates find ways to communicate their support of traditional marriage in a way that “holds social conservatives while attracting socially moderate independents.”

Gary Bauer asks another question. He wonders: “whether it ever crosses Rove’s mind to write a column entitled, Are Economic Issues Hurting Republicans? He is trying to make the point that on social issues, candidates are not out of the mainstream. If anything, the real challenge in on many of the economic issues.

Here are a few poll numbers Gary Bauer picked out to show the real challenge for candidates in the 2016 election. For example, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans think the rich should pay more in taxes. More than seven in ten (71%) want to increase the minimum wage. Only about a third (36%) of Americans think Social Security benefits for future generations should be cut.

He argues that candidates are losing national elections not because of abortion or other social issues. They may be losing elections because of “the perception that the Republican Party cares first and foremost about corporations, not Main Street America.” That is why he believes the party may be more out of step with voters on economic issues than with values issues.

Gary Bauer’s comments are a reminder that social issues are not losing issues. Candidates who stand for life, marriage, and religious liberty will find people willing to work for their campaigns and eager to vote for them on Election Day.